Per Aspera expands ocean terraforming with Blue Mars expansion
The fascinating game of Mars terraforming adds ports, fisheries, and more.
Terraforming management simulator Per Aspera has a new expansion on the way, arriving May 2nd 2022, that will deepen the game around that all-important source of life: Water. New buildings will allow transport over your newly-made Martian oceans, as well as exploitation of underwater resources and—perhaps most importantly—fisheries to harvest the life you've seeded in those oceans.
Other buildings shown off in the annoucement trailer look to include floating power stations, ports, shipyards, research outposts, and perhaps floating algae and fish farms. Developer Tlön Industries said in a press release that new outposts will allow the research of underwater special sites, and that the update will also improve the Per Aspera's simulation of Mars' water cycle.
I'm pretty positive on Per Aspera, a game that I gave an 85 in initial review and which has improved a lot since launch. The first expansion, Green Mars, was completely free, adding more fauna, delineated biomes, and outdoor gardening as well as landscaping. It's a neat game, and one I'm glad is getting more material—because it's not just a sim game, it's also a narrative one that encourages you to think and behave like an AI.
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Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.